The Blog

 Introduction UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson. October 3, 2015. Toyota Center, Houston, Texas. Daniel Cormier made his first UFC Light Heavyweight Championship defence, retaining the title against Alexander Gustafsson by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46). For the second time in two LHW title fights, Gustafsson pushed the champion to the absolute limit and came away without the belt. Gustafsson had been given the title shot coming off a KO loss to Anthony Johnson in January 2015. Cormier had w

Introduction UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson 2. September 5, 2015. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. Demetrious Johnson defended the UFC Flyweight Championship against John Dodson for the second time, winning by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46). It was his seventh consecutive FW title defence, tying Jose Aldo for the most consecutive title defences in UFC history. Johnson nearly pitched a shutout in the rematch. He outlanded Dodson 94-70 in significant strikes. His right-hand lead scored c

Introduction UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia. August 1, 2015. HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ronda Rousey stopped Bethe Correia with punches 34 seconds into round one to retain the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship. It was her third consecutive win in under one minute (Cat Zingano: 14 seconds; Alexis Davis: 16 seconds). The 14,723 in attendance were overwhelmingly pro-Correia; they left in near silence. Correia had said ‘Don’t cry’ to Rousey during the weigh-in staredown, alluding to comme

Introduction UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor. July 11, 2015. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. One of the most significant events in UFC history and arguably one of the finest single cards ever presented. Conor McGregor won the interim UFC Featherweight Championship by TKO of Chad Mendes in round two. Robbie Lawler defended the WW title against Rory MacDonald in a fight inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as one of the greatest in the promotion’s history. 825,000 PPV buys. The first UFC event with

Introduction UFC 188: Velasquez vs. Werdum. June 13, 2015. Arena Ciudad de México, Mexico City, Mexico. The second UFC event in Mexico. Fabricio Werdum unified the UFC Heavyweight Championship by submitting Cain Velasquez with a guillotine choke on the ground in the third round, at 2:13. This was the fight that had been planned for UFC 180 in November 2014 before Velasquez withdrew with a knee injury three weeks out. Werdum had beaten Mark Hunt for the interim title at UFC 180 and entered this

Introduction UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier. May 23, 2015. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. The event was originally headlined by Jon Jones (c) defending the LHW title against Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson. On April 26, Jones was named a suspect in a hit-and-run car accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A pregnant woman sustained a broken arm. Jones left the scene before returning. On April 28, the UFC stripped Jones of the title and suspended him indefinitely. Daniel Cormier replaced him. Cormier su

Introduction UFC 186: Johnson vs. Horiguchi. April 25, 2015. Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Demetrious Johnson submitted Kyoji Horiguchi with an armbar at 4:59 of round five — with one second remaining in the championship fight. It was the latest submission finish in UFC history and Johnson’s sixth consecutive FW title defence. No one has broken the record. The event was originally planned to be headlined by a BW Championship rematch between TJ Dillashaw and Renan Barao. Dillashaw withd

Introduction UFC 185: Pettis vs. dos Anjos. March 14, 2015. American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas. Rafael dos Anjos won the UFC Lightweight Championship by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) over defending champion Anthony Pettis. It was one of the biggest upsets in LW title history. Dos Anjos scored takedowns at will, outlanded Pettis in significant strikes, and dominated all five rounds. In the co-main event, Joanna Jędrzejczyk won the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship by stopping

 Introduction UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano. February 28, 2015. Staples Center, Los Angeles, California. Ronda Rousey submitted Cat Zingano with an armbar 14 seconds into round one — the fastest finish in UFC title fight history. It was her fifth Women’s Bantamweight Championship defence. The event was originally planned to be headlined by a Middleweight Championship bout between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort. Weidman withdrew with a rib injury weeks before the event. The card was reorganised wi

Introduction UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz. January 31, 2015. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. Anderson Silva returned to the Octagon for the first time since breaking his leg at UFC 168 on December 28, 2013 — a 13-month absence. His opponent was Nick Diaz, who had been out since losing to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 in March 2013. Silva won a unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) by dissecting Diaz with leg kicks and outstriking him over five rounds. The result was subsequently overturned to a

Introduction UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier. January 3, 2015. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. Jon Jones defended the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) — his eighth consecutive LHW title defence, extending the light heavyweight division record. Jones did not just outclass Cormier — he outwrestled him, taking him down across the fight. Cormier had never been taken down in his UFC career before this fight. The build-up included the

Introduction UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler 2. December 6, 2014. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas. Robbie Lawler became the UFC Welterweight Champion with a split decision win (48-47, 47-48, 49-46) over defending champion Johny Hendricks. It was the culmination of a 13-year, 36-fight journey to UFC gold for Lawler. Their first fight at UFC 171 had ended with Hendricks winning the vacant WW belt by unanimous decision. Hendricks had also fought that first bout with a torn bicep. The co-main e